What are the prerequisites for the certificate program?

What credentials does The Income Tax School have?

The Income Tax School is approved by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) for Continuing Education for EAs, the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) for CPAs, California Tax Education Council (CTEC), Oregon State Board of Tax Practitioners (OBTP), State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), and college credit is available through the University of Phoenix. Learn more

Who is this certificate program suitable for?

These certificate programs are suitable for all adults who seek a fast track to a professional white-collar career. Tax preparation is especially appealing to those who would enjoy helping other people by making the intimidating task of tax preparation a pleasant experience while saving their clients’ money by minimizing their tax liabilities.

Stay-at-home parents with young children find tax preparation a convenient profession as they are able to be off when their children are out of school for the summer, yet maintain their professional skills.

Early retirees find tax preparation a rewarding second career enabling them use their minds while helping people and still have time to travel, play golf and spend time with their grandchildren.

College students find tax preparation an opportunity to gain professional work experience and credentials to strengthen their resumes.

Moonlighting professionals find tax preparation a source of extra income during winter months.

Many employed and self-employed individuals such as financial services and real-estate professionals find tax preparation a complementary profession to earn extra money and also generate leads for their other professional activities, while also enabling them to better serve their clients through knowledge of the tax consequences of their clients’ decisions.

What are the system requirements for the certificate program?

In order to take our online courses, you must have access to the Internet (high speed internet access is recommended). You can access the course contents from any web-enabled device. You do not have to use the same computer to log-in to the course every time. Adobe Reader is required to view the PDF versions for print of the online reading material.

What materials are included with the certificate program?

Each of the courses is accompanied by a student text (350-500 pages). The entire text is provided online; however, hard copies of student texts are also provided at the start of each course for convenience and future reference. Students are also provided with hard copies of tax forms to complete tax return problems.

How much time do I have to complete the certificate program?

Will I be taking the courses all at once or consecutively?

In order to provide you with the most up to date materials at the time you start your courses, you will be enrolled in one course at a time and complete them in consecutive order. Even though you have a total term for the program, we recommend to complete each course within the time frame that each course is termed. The terms of each course are listed below.

Already Have Some Tax Knowledge?

If you already have some tax knowledge under your belt from another source, you may test out of the Comprehensive Tax Course only, register for one of the programs and move on to the next course. The cost to test out of the Comprehensive Tax Course is $100. Please contact us by calling us at 1.800.984.1040 or by emailing us.

If you’ve already taken the Comprehensive Tax Course with The Income Tax School, upgrade your course to a certificate program.

If you are currently enrolled in or have completed an ITS course or certificate program and your term has not ended, your current fees may be credited toward a higher level certificate program. You only need to pay the difference of the two programs. There is no additional upgrade fee.

If you’ve already completed an ITS course or certificate program with us and your term has ended not more than 9 months ago, you may still upgrade by paying the difference of the two programs, plus a nominal re-enrollment fee of $25 to cover processing.

If you’ve already completed an ITS course or certificate program with us, and it is past 9 months but not more than 18 months since the end of your term, you may still upgrade by paying the difference of the two programs, plus a nominal re-enrollment fee of $50 to cover processing.